


Nightmares

by Sakurucha



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Night Terrors, Spoilers, it ends with cuddles I swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-31
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-08-12 06:53:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7924852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sakurucha/pseuds/Sakurucha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Worried for Saeran, Saeyoung asks you to keep an eye on him while he goes out for business.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nightmares

Humming, you stood before your dish rack, the last plate in your hands…

The plate you nearly dropped when your phone suddenly rang from the nearby countertop.

Quickly you put away the dish and answered the call. “Saeyoung?” You set the phone between your ear and shoulder, securing it there as you plucked a towel from nearby and wiped the last of the water from your hands. “Fancy a call from you this hour…”

“Can you come by right now?” He sounded desperate; the usual, lively humor was lost from his voice.

That alarmed you enough, towel falling from your hands. “Saeyoung? Is everything alright?”

He caught himself, at least momentarily. “Y-yeah! Everything’s fine, just… please come over. Please. I’ll tell you when you get here.”

“OK. I’ll be right there, so just sit tight.” You hadn’t the slightest clue why he was pleading for you; in your concern, you wasted no time in preparing a small overnight bag, just in case, before rushing to his place.

“I’m sorry to ask you on such short notice, ____.” Saeyoung watched you closely, his eyes praying that you to accept the situation. He had tried everything he could, he explained as quickly as possible, but tonight he couldn’t avoid going out for, what he called, “important business.”

What shouldn’t have been a problem became one; tonight, he feared leaving Saeran alone. Perhaps he was being paranoid, he said, but he just couldn’t shake the feeling. “You’re the only one I trust well enough to keep an eye on Saeran, you know..? Or, I guess… the only person Saeran trusts enough,” he amended with a dry laugh.

Honestly, you had expected something much worse, considering his behavior on the phone. Nonetheless, you said nothing of that thought, choosing to comfort him instead.

Offering him a reassuring smile, you shook your head at his apology. You felt his hands trembling when you took them into your own. He stiffened, still trying to maintain a facade of stability, but relaxed as you passed your thumbs gently over his knuckles. “Saeyoung, it’s fine. You know I’m always here when you need me… Besides, I’m here so often, I practically feel like I live here! No big deal, really.” To your relief, the quivering in his hands eventually slowed to a stop. Positive he had calmed down, you released his hands and laughed for him. “No need to be so sullen; I, your salvation, am here!”

“Ohh? I feel you’re beginning to echo me..! A doppelganger in disguise..?!” He tried to mirror your smile, pulling together the strings of his playful persona for you.

You laugh, now placing both your hands upon his shoulders and giving them a little squeeze before turning him towards the door. You pressed your palms to his back, adding a little push to get him moving. “Now then, oh great Seven, shouldn’t you be off? The world needs you, but you’re keeping it waiting. How the world must suffer!”

“Ahhh, you’re right! Well then, God Seven is off to save those who pray for his grace! Ciao!” Though he said goodbye, his reluctance was apparent when he leaned just slightly back into your palms rather than towards the door. Through his back, you felt him breathe sharply before he forced himself away from you to leave.

Hand on the door, he briefly stopped again. “… So I’ll be back as soon as I can, yeah?”

“Of course… Don’t worry. I’ll be here the whole time.”

“Right. Then… I’m off!” He opened the door, flashed you a cheeky grin, then disappeared with a loud, metallic clank.

Once he was gone… silence.

That silence endured most of the night. Saeran was keeping to himself in his room. Yawning quietly, you settled on the sofa nearest to his room where he could still easily call for you, if necessary. Your eyelids grew heavier, head sinking further into the cushion…

But a noise from Saeran’s room startled you before sleep could completely overwhelm you.

“Saeran?” You quickly rose to investigate, rubbing the sleep from your eyes. Though Saeran seemed well enough now, you and Saeyoung remained ever vigilant; he could perhaps relapse or have a rough patch with his thinking, the both of you knew, and neither of you wanted him to suffer that because you were blinded by optimism. At first, Saeyoung had insisted he could care for Saeran on his own now and you should worry more about yourself, but you refused and devoted much of your free time to the two of them. Through a smidgen of guilt, Saeyoung greatly appreciated your efforts.

Standing before Saeran’s door, you gently knocked to get his attention. “Saeran, is everything alright?” You received no reply from him, but what you did hear brought you no comfort. Straining your ears, you heard muffled cries from the other side of the door. You furrowed your brows, nibbling your bottom lip in a brief moment of contemplation. You gingerly tested the doorknob; unlocked. Steeling your nerves and hoping not to offend, you whispered an apology and quietly let yourself in.

Saeran lay upon his bed, clutching his blankets in resistance to the night terrors that trapped him in sleep and tortured him there. Your heart sank deep in your chest to see him suffer like this. He murmured to himself, eyes tightly shut, brow drenched with sweat. “No… no you can’t… leave me alone…! Stop…!” His words struggled against his strangled throat, though it seemed the more he tried to speak, the more painful his expression became.

In a concerned stupor, you crossed the room to his bed. Hesitant at first, you took a seat upon the edge nearest his head. Tilting your head just slightly, you swallowed the knot from your throat and reached a hand towards his hair, fingers running through his bangs with feather-like delicacy. However, likely in response to the foreign sensation, he woke with a start, immediately grasping at your wrist with strength enough to cut the bloodflow to your hand. He stared at you, venom in his eyes, likely residual from whatever horrors he was reliving in his nightmare; his breathing was heavy and labored, eyes unblinking as he tried to make out your form in the darkness.

You stared at each other, time standing still for you in those few minutes. He was panicking, you knew; your mind raced with thoughts that you had only made matters worse by disturbing him. Still, had you not done so, you rationalized that his nightmare was far worse than this. “Saeran…” You spoke with a careful, measured voice as to not further startle him. Though you winced at the inevitable bruise in your wrist, you worried for him far more than yourself. “I’m sorry I startled you… It’s just me, Saeran…”

“___…?” He began to make out your form in the darkness; when he noticed his hand clenched around your wrist, he tore his hand away as if your wrist was made from hot coals. Watching you like an illusion that threatened to disappear if he blinked, he slowly moved to lift his upper body.

Your breath caught in your throat before you could respond. Without warning, he wound his arms suffocatingly tight around you and buried his head into your chest; like a child fearing the worst, he clung to you as though his life depended on it. In his mind, it very well might have. “You’re here….” He breathed quietly against you, still rapid like the hammering of his heart. “They… they tried to take you from me… You betrayed me… I…. I just hurt you, didn’t… I…”

Your shirt was damp.

After recovering from the initial shock, you hesitantly returned the embrace, bringing him closer to you with one arm while the other rested upon his head. Feeling his head relax into your palm, you soothingly ran your fingers through his hair again in steady, even motions. “Shh… It’s okay, Saeran. I’m here, and I won’t be going anywhere. I’m okay. I’ll always be here to support you, you know that…” You held him close, trying your best to comfort him with gently spoken nothings.

After what seemed hours, his breathing fell into a gentle rhythm, arms gradually loosening their vice grip around you. Your head slowly fell into the top of his, nose gently nuzzling his hair as you held him with half-lidded eyes; your whispers grew softer and breathier as you, too, calmed with him and grew drowsier. Still, you never stopped until he was finally asleep again.

Saeyoung froze when he returned home early the following morning. His eyes scanned the living room, but you were nowhere to be found. Usually you would be asleep on the sofa, or forcing a _healthy_ breakfast down his throat by now… well, maybe it was a little early for that. The sight of your overnight bag was a small comfort for him before he began his search. He checked the whole house, efforts fruitless until reaching Saeran’s room. Hesitantly, reminded of his fearful reason for calling you in the first place, he opened the door.

A deep sigh escaped his lips, and he shook his head with a wry grin.

There entangled with you, Saeran actually looked secure, at peace in that fleeting moment.

Saeyoung had no mind to disturb either of you; not now, his relief all too great after last night’s worries. He would pester you for details in the morning. “Well, I guess the tales of my adventures can wait until _after_ they wake up~…”

Calling you was a good idea. Noted.

There was only one thing he knew he had to do before he returned to the living room. He plucked his phone from his pocket and snapped several photos–he needed to get the best shot possible, he reasoned–as evidence for the inevitable teasing to come… and maybe, he thought to himself as he opened the RFA chatting app, he could amuse himself by gushing to someone else in the meantime.


End file.
